I was recently in an At Home store, and was amazed at how much art they have for sale. It’s mass-produced and certainly on the “safe” side, image-wise, meaning simple abstractions, pop culture images, and fun, playful art (see below). But when you see how much art they have for sale, how much shelf space they dedicate to it – they must sell a lot! So does this mean, as a working artist, that this is my competition?
I’ve gone through this argument before: if someone has a budget of $50-$100 to spend on art, and goes to a store like At Home, or Pier One Imports, etc., they can certainly get a nice landscape painting (in reality, a print on canvas) for that amount, even if it means thousands of other people could have the exact same painting. Or – they could spend the same amount with me and get a one-of-a-kind unique art work. If you’re out there and considering something nice to hang over the sofa, you can have a unique piece from me, save yourself a trip to the big box store!
But – I have to admit, I get a kick out of super cheesy art, or kitsch, I find it amusing … I mean, a bad flower painting is one thing, but when it’s a plastic surface with minor 3-D elements, like this one above, it’s kind of … special?
At any rate, I’ll stick to making my paintings and hope some people out there can take some interest.